Disruptions of ovarian function in women are associated with increased risk of metabolic disease due to dysregulation of peripheral glucose homeostasis in skeletal muscle. Our previous evidence suggests that alterations in skeletal muscle lipid metabolism coupled with altered mitochondrial function may also develop. The objective of this study was to use an integrative metabolic approach to identify potential areas of dysfunction that develop in skeletal muscle from ovariectomized (OVX) female mice compared with age-matched ovary-intact adult female mice (sham). The OVX mice exhibited significant increases in body weight, visceral, and inguinal fat mass compared with sham mice. OVX mice also had significant increases in skeletal muscle intramyocellular lipids (IMCL) compared with the sham animals, which corresponded to significant increases in the protein content of the fatty acid transporters CD36/FAT and FABPpm. A targeted metabolic profiling approach identified significantly lower levels of specific acyl carnitine species and various amino acids in skeletal muscle from OVX mice compared with the sham animals, suggesting a potential dysfunction in lipid and amino acid metabolism, respectively. Basal and maximal mitochondrial oxygen consumption rates were significantly impaired in skeletal muscle fibers from OVX mice compared with sham animals. Collectively, these data indicate that loss of ovarian function results in increased IMCL storage that is coupled with alterations in mitochondrial function and changes in the skeletal muscle metabolic profile.
